''In the Pursuit of Leisure'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band

Sugar Ray Sugar Ray is an American rock band formed in Newport Beach, California, in 1986. Originally playing heavier funk metal and nu metal style music, the band achieved mainstream popularity in 1997 with their more pop-influenced single " Fly". T ...

, released in 2003. Singer-songwriter

Esthero Esthero ( ; born Jenny-Bea Englishman on December 23, 1978 in Stratford, Ontario) is a Canadian singer-songwriter who lives in Los Angeles, California. The name ''Esthero'' refers both to the singer and formerly to the two-person team of herself ...

and reggae singer

Shaggy Shaggy may refer to: People *Shaggy (musician) (born 1968), Jamaican American reggae rapper and singer *Shaggy 2 Dope, half of the hip hop, horrorcore band Insane Clown Posse *Shaggy Flores (born 1973), Nuyorican poet, writer and African diaspora ...

both make guest appearances. It features the single " Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)", a song which includes samples from both

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

's hit "Love Is Like Oxygen" and Midnight Star's hit "

No Parking (On the Dance Floor) "No Parking (On the Dance Floor)" is the title track from Midnight Star's fourth and most successful album, ''No Parking on the Dance Floor''. In the US, the song reached number 43 on the R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the m ...

." That track was a success and reached the #20 spot on Billboard's Adult Top 40. A cover of Joe Jackson's new wave song "

Is She Really Going Out With Him? "Is She Really Going Out with Him?" is a song written and performed by British musician Joe Jackson. It was released in October 1978 as his debut single and was later included on Jackson's debut album, '' Look Sharp!'' The track was one of the ...

" was released as the second single. It had similar success and reached the #29 spot on Billboard's Adult Top 40.

Reception and sales

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

awarded it four out of five stars, calling it "another winning record by a band who has proven to be far more resilient than anybody could have guessed when '

Fly Flies are insects of the Order (biology), order Diptera, the name being derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek δι- ''di-'' "two", and πτερόν ''pteron'' "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwing ...

' flew to the top of the charts in 1997." The album only sold 135,000 copies, far less than the band's prior self-titled release, which had gone platinum. The album's commercial failure led to a six-year gap in releasing their next album.

Track listing

Credits

Sugar Ray

*Sugar Ray ―

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

(1, & 3-11) **

Mark McGrath Mark Sayers McGrath (born March 15, 1968) is an American singer who is the lead vocalist of the rock band Sugar Ray. McGrath is also known for his work as a co-host of ''Extra'', and he was the host of ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' in 2010. McG ...

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

Rodney Sheppard Rodney Sheppard (born November 25, 1967) is an American musician who is the guitarist of the rock band Sugar Ray. Life and career Rodney was born in Port Of Spain, but raised in Newport Beach, California. His mother's name is Gloria and he h ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

**Murphy Karges – bass, backing vocals **

DJ Homicide Craig Anthony Bullock, also known by his stage name DJ Homicide (born December 17, 1970), is an American musician, DJ, rapper, singer, record producer and radio personality. He was the DJ of the rock band Sugar Ray. DJ Homicide hosts The Blast on ...

–

turntables A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, samples, programming;

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, backing vocals ** Stan Frazier –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, backing vocals

Additional personnel

Songwriting on "Is She Really Going Out with Him?"

* Joe Jackson

Guest vocalists

– "Heaven" *ProHoeZak (Simon McKinley) – " Mr. Bartender (It's So Easy)" *

– " 56 Hope Road"

References

External links

* Sugar Ray albums 2003 albums Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by David Kahne {{2000s-alt-rock-album-stub